Saturday night marked one year since I self-published my first book. My first sale was to myself, a tradition I’ve continued with every book I’ve published. This wasn’t my first foray into publishing, but so far, it’s been my most satisfying and successful. February closed as my first five figure month, and March looks like it could be almost as good. Granted, I’ve had months where I made MUCH less, and I anticipate (dread) months like that in the future. By the same token, I hope for more months like February.

For the past couple of days, I’ve been trying to write this blog, trying to figure out what I really wanted to say as I started my second year as an independent author. I’ve done pretty well for myself, but I’m no Hugh Howey or Joe Konrath. I’ve definitely sold more than a hundred books. But I can’t say that I’m possessed of any special wisdom in marketing, or even in networking. Truth is, I really should come with a disclaimer because half the time, I’m not even a good example. On my first book, I did EVERYTHING you’re not supposed to. Somehow, it still managed to work out okay, but I’m that guy who says “Don’t try this at home kids!” I wish I could say I’m possessed of some special brand of genius that I could pin this on. If that was true, I would know exactly what I did to make my books successful. But I don’t.

I also don’t want to ascribe my success to pure luck. I worked too damn hard to make this look this easy to chalk it all up to something completely beyond my control. So, if you ask was I lucky? Maybe a little.

What I do have on myside is experience. Not all of it my own. When I first started the process of releasing Zompoc Survivor: Exodus, I talked to other successful authors. I asked questions, and I listened. I did what they did, and somehow, it worked for me. And one thing experience has taught me is persistence. There were times when I looked at my sales and thought “All those assholes who tried to kill my dreams may have been right.” But I still stuck with it. Dues = paid. So, if anything, I can hold myself up as an example of persistence paying off in the long run.

It’s been a good year, and it looks like the year ahead is going to be even better. At the end of the day, I’m glad I went indie. It’s been an adventure so far, and it’s only just beginning for me.